Roses and Thorns
by CrimsonThornbush210
Summary: This is the story of Kairi Penrose. A young 15 year old girl with a mysterious past. Follow her on her Pokemon journey! Rated T for language.  Yeah, this summary is really cheesy :P
1. Lost and Found

_**Lost and Found**_

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><p>I started the dull day with an early awakening. Again. My alarm clock has a tendency of going off way too early in the morning. The bastard loves dicking with me.<p>

I let out a loud yawn and scanned the room. As my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, I found myself in my gothic, cramped bedroom. The sunshine shone as much as it possibly could through the closed, crimson curtains hiding my window. The walls were black and red in a parallel kind of way.

A white bedside table stood by the head of my bed with that friggin' digital alarm clock still beeping away. I hit the stupid thing and the beeping stopped. The pounding in my head began to settle down.

I rubbed my tired eyes and got up off the bed. I stretched out my arms and legs while releasing another loud yawn.

I took another look around as I could see more of my room while standing up. My keyboard and acoustic electric guitar rested on their stands along the wall to my left. I named my guitar Barbara and my keyboard Paula, for whatever reason I don't know.

A large, shady desk stood along the red wall to my right by my white closet door, with a large, black computer chair residing by it. On this desk lay my shiny, again black, laptop with sketchbooks and stationary sprawled across it. I'm an artsy freak.

Another white door and a full-length mirror stood humbly on the wall opposite me. I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My messy brown hair stopped just below my shoulders. I was wearing a large Slipknot top that I used as a nightgown since it stopped below my thighs. My dark brown eyes were so tired. It looked like I was stoned or something.

_Geez, I look like a mess. If any of those bitches from work saw my hair like-_

A sudden realisation struck my head.

_Work? WORK! Shit!_

I spun round and ran towards my digital clock. 11:30 it said.

_FUCK! I was supposed to be at work half an hour ago!_

I flung open my closet door and threw on my fishnet tights, my dark denim shorts, my greyish crop top and my black platform sandals. Not the greatest combination I suppose.

I scurried around the room and found my hairbrush underneath the sketchbooks and papers on my desk. I tackled my hair until it looked at least half decent.

I took a quick second look in the mirror before I left for work. My outfit wasn't that great, but it would have to do.

I ran out the door and down the stairs into the kitchen. I pulled a dairy milk chocolate bar out of the cupboard, stuffed it in my mouth and picked up my house keys lying on the kitchen table. I shoved them in my shorts pocket and darted out the front door.

I ran across the marble porch, forgetting about the steps in front of me, and tumbled down the stairs. My head hit the pathway with a loud thud.

I heard the slam of a car door as I slowly attempted to stand up.

"Geez, Kairi, you okay?" I heard a deep, croaked voice.

I rubbed the back of my head and got back on my feet.

"That was quite a fall you had there," the voice chuckled, "Late for work again, I see."

I turned around to see my taxi driver and very old friend, Duncan Charleston. His silver hair glistened in the sunlight and he was dressed in a smart black suit.

"My, you look very smart this morning," I complimented him, "Is somethin' goin' on?"

"Yup, it's my eldest son's wedding day," he said with a cheery grin.

"Whoa, Danny and Heather's gettin' hitched?" I asked as I brushed soil off my clothes.

"Yes, it's true," he sighed as he walked back towards his blue taxi cab.

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I followed him towards the cab.

"It's not that I'm not happy for him, I mean, he's my son," he explained, "And Heather is a very lovely young girl, it's just… It doesn't feel right."

Duncan slumped onto the drivers' seat and closed the door behind him.

"But they've been together for, what, 5 years now?" I said, planting my ass on the seat beside him and slamming the car door, "And they're both in their mid-twenties. It sounds right to me."

"Yes, when you say it like that it does, but that's not it," he said as he started the car, "Despite how long they've been together, they've only been living in the same place for… about seven months now."

"Seven months?" I questioned as I strapped my seatbelt on, "If they've only been living together for seven months then why are they getting married? I mean the both of them like taking things real slow, so why rush this whole marriage thing?"

Duncan let out another sigh as he began driving the car away from the house.

"Heather's pregnant."

I felt like a lightning bolt just jolted my ass when I said that. I was so damn shocked. I mean, Heather was nice and all, but she loves how girly and thin she looks. A girl like her would hate the idea of looking fat for 9 months.

"R-really?"

"Yes, really. Although, they were having a lot of arguments recently about Danny's job. You know the way he's obsessed with being an artist, right? The more pieces he sells, they each sell for a lower price than the last one. The whole thing is going downhill, so he and Heather have been arguing about how they're going to settle they're financial problems."

"Man, and he loves painting, that's gotta be hard for him. Now, I don't mean to pry or anything but, if she's yelling at him for having little money to pay the bills, then why doesn't she get a job?"

"I asked him the same thing. The boy is stubborn. He's looking for a second job to pay the bills and take care of the baby. He wants to make her the happiest bride in the world. That's what he said to me, anyways."

"Wow, he must really love her."

"I miss the good old days when I was young and silly like him. I was known as a very handsome guy back in my day."

"Duncan, you player!"

We both laughed as we drove down the main street and into the big city.

"So, when's the wedding?" I asked once I calmed down.

"A couple hours," he replied, "It's up in the flower fields in Floaroma Town."

"Floaroma Town?" I yelled, "Are you kidding me? D, we're only leaving Twinleaf Town now, you'll never make it in time!"

"I will, don't you worry," he reassured her, "If I leave now then I can make it. Here's your stop, Madame Penrose."

I looked out the car window and saw the small restaurant I worked at with a large sign outside saying 'Thompson's'.

"Oh shit!" I yelled as I searched my pockets thoroughly, "D, I forgot my money, I am so, so sorry!"

"It's alright, it's alright, you can pay me back on Saturday," he reassured her, "Now go, your boss is probably real pissed at you this time."

"Thanks Duncan!" I said and ran inside the restaurant.

* * *

><p>He was right. My boss really WAS pissed at me this time.<p>

"Kairi, where the HELL have you been?" he shouted as we entered the staff room.

Some of the other employees were sitting around and drinking coffee and looked up to see what all the commotion was about.

"Look, Mr. Baker, I am so, incredibly sorry!" I said apologetically, "My alarm clock didn't-"

"Fix the damn alarm clock then!" He yelled as he slammed his huge pudgy fist on the coffee table.

I was taken aback by how big he'd gotten in only a matter of weeks. He looked like a large, chubby sumo wrestler. Not that I have anything against overweight people, it's just amazing how much he let himself go.

_Wow, his divorce from Joanne has really got him down._

"Listen, Mr. Baker," I said, trying to explain, "I forgot I had work because of the shift change, my alarm clock is still messed up, I fell down the stairs on the way here, there's been so much hassle lately and-"

"That would explain why your lip is bleeding," he said, pointing at my face.

I rubbed a finger across my lip and my blood transferred onto it.

_Damn. I never even noticed._

"Look, Penrose," he sighed heavily, "I know you haven't had the best lifestyle around here, but you can't use all these excuses all the time."

"But, sir-"

"I'm tired of you slacking off all the time!" he yelled, "A slacker like you isn't worth the pay. You're fired!"

"But Mr. Baker, give me second chance, please-"

"You've had enough second chances, Penrose! Now go wipe your face. I want you out of here within the hour."

He waddled out the door and shut it behind him.

I let out a heavy sigh and fell back onto the armchair beside the TV. I brushed my hand stressfully through my hair and thought about how much I messed up and how I was gonna fix this mess.

_Great. There are barely any good jobs in the area with decent pay. What the hell do I do now?_

"Hey, Kairi."

I looked up and my eyes lay upon a very adorable creature. It was Tony Marelli, one of the waiters at the restaurant. He's a couple years older than me, about 17 I think.

He had black, scruffy hair and lightly tanned skin with a small row of dark freckles across the bridge of his nose. He had grey eyes with a hint of blue around the rims and he wore an innocent smile on his face.

He was wearing his uniform, black pants with a white shirt with the first couple buttons open, revealing part of his chest.

"Hey Tony," I sighed, "You know Penny will be pissed if she saw you talkin' to me."

"I'm not dating the girl so her opinion doesn't matter," he said, "She's a real pain in the ass. Oh, here you go."

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I thanked him and dabbed the blood on my lips with it.

"No wonder you fell down the stairs, you're a clumsy idiot!" he teased, "Besides, those aren't the kind of shoes you wear to work, you know."

"Hey, can't blame a girl for wanting to look nice!" I giggled.

"That's the first thing we've ever agreed on, Rosie," said an irritatingly familiar voice.

Enter Penelope Sanders. We went to middle school together and she used to steal lunch money off kids, but she always got caught red-handed, so I bestowed her with the name Penny Pickpocket. She's a 16 year old rich kid and a total daddy's girl. This little tart came through the door wearing a ridiculously short denim skirt, a pale green boob tube and the pinkest and tallest platform high-heels I've ever seen. A pair of large, golden hoops hung from her ears and her face was an orange, carrot colour compared to her pale skin. Why she would steal stuff when her dad would buy her anything? I have no idea.

_Okay, I know I threw all this crap on and barely gave a thought about how bad I'd look, but come on, girl, do you have NO style whatsoever?_

"Hey, Tony!" she said in that horrible high pitched voice, running over to him and clinging onto his right arm, "So, I hear little Rosie got fired this morning! What a shame! Rosie I feel so sorry for you! I mean, you're poor enough already and now you're out of a job?"

"At least I earn my money," I said, giving her the evil eyes, "I'm not a spoiled little parasite who lives off her dad's cash like you."

"I beg your pardon?" she yapped, "You're the one who's the vermin here!"

"C'mon, Penny, just calm down," Tony said, "Kairi just lost her job today; give her a break, will ya?"

Penny stared at him with her mouth hanging open, which put a very cheeky grin on my face.

"Well, I better go clear out my locker," I said as I opened the door, "Oh, and Penny?"

She turned to look at me with a scowl on her face.

"There is a limit to this thieving, Pen. I mean, I know it's embarrassing to ask you dad to get you condoms, but you can't just take his, ya know."

Tony sniggered and Penny hit the back of his head, totally pissed off.

I walked out the door with an even greater smile on my face.

_God. I never knew getting fired from this place would be this much fun!_

* * *

><p>I practically skipped down to my locker after that, which was near the back door. I didn't have very much inside my locker, just my uniform, my name tag and a picture of me when I was a kid.<p>

In the picture I sat on a swing with a huge smile on my face. I was wearing a little black and red tartan dress with little black sandals dangling from my feet. My hair was a dirty blonde colour, totally different from my hair colour now. I was about 5 years old in that picture.

I slowly peeled the tape off the corners of the photograph and held it in front of me. I was so young, so carefree back then, despite my troubles.

A sad feeling flowed through me as I stared at the photograph. My chest felt a little heavy and my eyes started welling up. I rubbed them and took a few moments to compose myself. I folded up the photograph and placed it in my free shorts' pocket. I took out my uniform and set it in a pile on the bench behind me with my name tag resting on top of it.

I flicked a stray hair out of my face and made my exit out the back door, shutting it quietly behind me.

_Vermin, huh? With my history, you would think that, wouldn't you? Frickin' parasite._

I wondered around the town, observing my surroundings. The shops and stalls were all open and selling lots of ice-creams and snow cones and cold drinks.

_No wonder sales are going crazy; it's hot as hell out here._

The sun's rays heated up my back and shoulders as I walked through the town and into the park.

Kids were playing in the play park, arguing about whom would put the little red flag on the sandcastles, standing on the swings and flying down the slides backwards.

_Damn, I miss the good old days. Geez, I sound like a grandma or somethin'!_

After venturing through the park and I saw a narrow path going through the forest. It was the shortcut I took to get home since my house was so high up on the hills behind the town square.

A light breeze kissed my cheeks and cast through my hair. The trees were very tall and the branches were spread out in all different directions, forming an archway down the path.

It felt really uncomfortable walking up the path while wearing those big shoes, so I took them off and carried them as I marched barefoot back home.

The warm soil toasted my small feet as I hiked towards the hill. The rustling of leaves and the whisper of the wind danced in my ears, but was interrupted by a strange sound. It was like a high- pitched groan. Like a puppy was yelping or something.

I shrugged and walked on, but I stopped yet again after hearing the sound once more.

I followed the sound to an old oak tree with roots that had grown over the pathway. I looked through the bushes around the tree and then looked behind it.

Behind that large tree was a very young Chimchar. It groaned in pain as it clutched its head. It had bruises all over his face and down its arms. It must've fought with some of the Bug Pokémon in the forest.

"Hey there, little guy," I greeted it calmly, "What you doin' all the way out here?"

The Chimchar looked at me with a scared expression on its face. It closed its eyes after letting a tear fall down its hurt cheek.

"Hey, I'm not that scary, am I?" I said quietly, getting in my knees in front of it, "Did some other mean Pokémon hurt you out there, little guy?"

I didn't think a Pokémon could understand humans that well, but the frightened young chimp wiped its eyes and nodded.

It looked up at me with a sad frown as I patted its head.

"Don't worry about a thing, little man," I said, smiling at it, "I'm no meanie. I'm a nice person. I'm Kairi Penrose. Pleased to meet you!"

I held out my hand to it, trying to help it get up on its feet.

It stared at my hand and then stared back at me nervously.

"It's alright; you're safe now," I reassured it, "Let's get you cleaned up first. Then we'll go out and find your home. How's that sound?"

The chimp gazed at me for a moment with uncertainty in its eyes. After a few seconds or so, it stretched out its hand and grabbed mine. I lifted it up and carried it in my arms as I retraced my steps back to the town square.

The Chimchar stirred and tried to get comfortable. I held it tighter and told it that everything was going to be okay.

After a while, the little chimp fell sound asleep.

_Adorable little tyke. I've got a good feeling that you'll become a real strong Pokémon one day._

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><p><strong>This is the first Pokemon story I've ever written so I apologise for some gramatical errors, and the story is a bit... meh. I'm making up every character that appears in this and the story will follow similar lines to the Pokemon games, but I will change many details to make it more original. I hope you enjoy it!<strong>


	2. Home Truths

**Hey guys! Look, after this second chapter, I'll be on hiatus until the 2nd week of July as I have lots of other things to finish up before then, so I hope you enjoy this chapter while it's here. Thanks for reading!**

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><p><em><strong>Home Truths<strong>_

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><p>I sat on the benches in the waiting room of the Pokémon centre, tapping my foot impatiently. I felt as though it was up to me to make sure Chimchar was alright.<p>

Through the doors came a nurse smiling joyful as she walked towards me.

"Excuse me, miss?" she said as she approached me, "Are you the young lady that brought in that poor Chimchar about an hour ago?"

"Yes, that's me," I replied, holding out my hand, "Kairi Penrose."

"I'm Nurse Joy," said the kind nurse as she shook my hand, "I work here at the Pokémon centre. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. How's Chimchar doing?"

"It's fine now," she replied, "However, it does have a nasty injury."

"What kind of injury? Like a scar or something?"

"Yes," she sighed sadly, "Chimchar has a large scar on its back. It stretches from his shoulder right down to its tail. My guess is it got into trouble with a very hostile Pokémon."

"My god. At least it's alright now."

"The poor thing went through a lot tonight. Good job for getting it here just in time."

Hearing Joy praise me made me feel pretty good about myself. I was incredibly relieved that Chimchar was alright.

"How long will it need to stay here for?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Despite the large size of the scar, it didn't take too long for the wound to heal. The scar is still very noticeable, but it's very healthy diet seems to be speeding up the healing process quite a bit. From that, Chimchar will need to spend the night here tonight. It can leave tomorrow afternoon if it's in good condition."

"That's good news," I sighed in relief, "On the way here I promised Chimchar that I would help it get home, wherever it is."

"Chimchar is from this region, though you can never find it in tall grass or caves or anything. It's usually one of the three starter Pokémon for young trainers in this region. Oh!"

The sudden change in her tone of voice made me jump in surprise.

"It could be that Chimchar that got lost in the fields behind Professor Daniels' lab in Sandgem Town a while back!"

"Seriously?" I exclaimed, "Isn't he famous around these parts for his Poke research? He left Sinnoh 3 years ago. When did he get back?"

"He got back about a month ago," answered Nurse Joy, "He reported Chimchar missing over a week ago now."

"Well that's quite a while ago then."

"You should take Chimchar to him when it's fully healed. It's asleep right now, but seeing as you brought it all the way here then you can go sit with it if you want."

I thanked the kind-hearted nurse and walked into Chimchar's room. It was lying under the white duvet covers on the bed with an oxygen mask over its mouth.

I noticed a comfortable looking chair sitting beside the bed and planted my exhausted ass onto it.

I laid my head on the bed and watched Chimchar slowly breathing in and out until I fell asleep.

* * *

><p>I woke up to a bandaged Chimchar poking me for some odd reason. I blinked and my vision cleared. Chimchar's face went pink and it turned away from me in embarrassment.<p>

I couldn't help but giggle at its cuteness.

_It's really shy, but it's always curious about what's going on around it. Kinda like me when I was a kid._

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," I chuckled, "It's pretty rare to come across a Pokémon like you around these parts. Are you one of the starter Pokémon from Professor Daniels' Lab?"

The Chimchar crossed its legs and nodded politely to my question.

"You got lost then, huh?"

It nodded again.

I patted it's head gently and laughed to myself.

"Look, don't worry about it. The main thing is that you're safe and sound. Once you get better, I'm gonna take you home, okay?"

Chimchar looked over his shoulder at me, first staring in wonder, then giving me a somewhat thankful smirk. It's cheeky little grin looked cute yet cool at the same time, if that makes any sense. I was happy to see it smiling and couldn't help but smile back it the Fire Pokemon.

We heard a light knock on the door and Nurse Joy entered the room with a set of bandages and a wet face cloth.

"Well, hello there!" she said cheerfully as she immediately began changing Chimchar's bandages, "Stayed all night, Kairi?"

"Yeah," I replied as I rubbed my tired eyes, "so how's Chimchar doin'? Is it okay?"

"Well, the scar is still nasty looking," she explained as she cleaned Chimchar's back, "but it's healed up quite nicely; a lot quicker than we originally expected. That's one of the smoothest recoveries I've ever seen. It's pretty healthy."

"When do you think I can take it home?"

"Judging by how well it's healed up, Chimchar can leave once it's had something to eat, but it'll have to keep the bandages on for today. Why don't you bandage it up while I get some Pokemon food?"

Nurse Joy handed me the set of bandages and left the room.

I sat with my legs crossed on the bed, sitting behind Chimchar.

"Okay," I said as I unravelled the bandages a little, "I'm gonna bandage you up, so don't try and-"

The sentence died in my throat upon seeing the scar on the Pokemon's back. It was very deep and stretched from it's right shoulder all the way down to it's left hip. Many tiny, brown bruises were scattered around the scar.

"Damn!" I said, amazed at the sight of it's wound, "It looks like a real messed up scatter graph or something."

I wrapped the bandages around it's waist and over it's shoulder. The scar was completely hidden once I finished.

"Looks like you've done a good job!" observed Nurse Joy as she entered the room, a bottle of water and a box of Pokemon food in hand.

"Thanks!" I said, still amazed that I was actually being complimented for something.

The kind nurse pulled out two fresh bowls from the cupboard beside the bed and filled them up with the water and food.

At that moment, Chimchar leapt from the bed onto the floor and scurried over to the food bowls, munching away with it's tail burning vigorously.

"You like eating then, huh?" I said as I laughed at it's aggressiveness towards it's food.

Chimchar turned around with an "I'm in heaven!" expression.

I couldn't help but giggle at the fire Pokemon.

Within a matter of seconds, all that was left was a drop of water, a couple beads of Pokemon food and an incredibly happy Pokemon.

Chimchar pointed at one of the pockets in my shorts. Some sort of brown stain was seeping through it.

_Oh, crap. I forgot about the damn chocolate bar._

She pulled out the dirty wrapper and chucked it in the bin, licking her chocolate covered fingers afterwards.

"Thanks, kid," I said, flicking a few straw hairs out of my face, "Obviously, you've had your fill, now I need mine. Before I take you home, would you mind coming over to my place so I can eat somethin' first?"

Chimchar took a moment to think. It then replied with a happy "Cha!" and followed me out the door.

We made our way through the Pokemon centre, thanked Nurse Joy for the help, and went on our way out the door.

It was still as sunny and hot as yesterday. Not a single cloud in the sky. The town square was packed with people. Fish markets, fruit markets, holiday item markets, every possible market you could think of (besides insurance) had long queues of people waiting to buy their things.

Chimchar was overwhelmed by the large amount of people in front of us and jumped up onto my shoulder.

"Still shy, I see," I said as I walked around the large crowd, "They're nothing to be afraid of, don't you worry."

"Hey, Kairi!"

Chimchar jumped in fright when he saw the tanned, black haired boy run towards me.

_Aww, Chimchar, you're just too adorable!_

Tony came running towards me wearing green converse, pale baggy jeans and a plain white top. It all suited him quite well, in my opinion.

"Hey, Tony!" I called to him, "How's it goin'!"

"I'm good, thanks," he said, trying to catch his breath, "And you?"

"Still unemployed and still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but I'm good."

"I never knew you had yourself a Pokemon!" he said in amazement, reaching his hand out to Chimchar.

Chimchar, as I could easily tell, was still very shy around others, as it hesitated a bit before shaking Tony's hand.

"Shy little tyke, isn't he?" he chuckled, "Where'd you get it?"

"It isn't mine," I replied, "I found the little guy in the forest on my way home and it was badly injured. I took it to the Pokemon centre and stayed overnight to make sure it was okay. I think Chimchar is one of the starting Pokemon Professor Daniels keeps for new trainers, and it was said that a Chimchar had gotten lost from his lab, so…"

"Ah, I see. Well, if it's okay with the little man here, do ya' wanna get somethin' to eat? KFC is about a twenty minute walk from here."

"Sounds like a plan, but you're paying. Ya' here that, Chimchar? More food!"

I couldn't help but smile at the cheeky little grin that formed on it's face.

_Alright! Chips, popcorn chicken and a couple pots of gravy! I am such a kid. Oh well. BRING ON THE GRAVY!_

* * *

><p>"Dude, this gravy is frickin' orgasmic!" I drooled, stuffing chips and popcorn chicken covered in gravy into my big mouth.<p>

"I'm just wondering," started Tony, "how are you gonna pay the rent if you're not working? I mean, there's barely any jobs around here nowadays. The only jobs you could get are probably in the city, and they're only at minimum wage."

"Couldn't be assed moving to the city," I moaned, slowing down my incredibly fast speed of consumption, "but if it's the only place I can get a job then I guess I'd have to."

"Why is a 15 year old girl like yourself living on her own, anyways?"

The gravy covered chip was only centimetres away from my mouth when he asked me that. I was now holding it in mid-air, like my body just froze at that very moment.

My mind quickly rebooted my system and I finally brought the delicious chip into my mouth.

I could've swore that Chimchar sensed my anger building up as it scooted farther away from me before I could reply.

"Don't even start, Tony," I groaned after swallowing that damn delicious chip, "you know too well why I'm alone."

"No, at first I thought you decided to live on your own for a good cause," he continued, "but no. You left your parent's house because of your pride."

"Pride?" I said angrily, "I'm not as egotistical as some people may think, okay? My mother and father are the sorry excuses you call parents. Me, live with them? Get real, Marelli!"

"Kairi, you're still 15," said Tony calmly, trying to keep his cool, "regardless of who you're parents are, they're still your parents and living with them is better than living on your own, especially at such a young age. If you really wanna go it alone, then that's your decision. But if you're in a bind financially, you know… you can always use some of the money your parents gave you when you left."

Chimchar flinched and shut it's eyes tightly. The Pokemon knew what was coming.

"Use their money? Use their MONEY? Of course, that's just a fantastic idea, Tony, you fuckin' genius! Why not use the dirty money my parents left me? I mean, after all, my father spent all that time looking for a new street corner to sell drugs. And of course you can't forget about my mother, working so hard to get as high in the prostitution career as possible! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"Kairi-"

"Tony… I'm sorry for snapping like that just now and I know you're only tryin' to help me out here, but you know me. I like doing things on my own and living the way I wanna live. I don't intend to use that money unless it's a last resort. But seriously, I'll handle it, don't worry."

"Telling me not to worry always makes me do the exact opposite."

"Okay, can we please just change the subject now?"

Silence fell upon our table. The voices of other customers having everyday conversations were all that could be heard.

I couldn't help but feel pissed off. I mean, my parents are my parents, unfortunately, but even when I asked them why they did it on the day before I left their house, they were too drugged up to even answer me. I remember looking out the window of the taxi before leaving. As it drove on, all I could see was the rain thundering down on the window, and my mother, running after me. When she finally realised she could never catch up, she dropped to her knees and cried her eyes out. As much as I hated the lifestyle she lived, I hated seeing her cry, more than anything. That was last time I saw her. I daren't think about how my dad was feeling.

At that moment, I had a piece of gravy covered popcorn chicken waving in front of my face. Chimchar was holding it in front of me, with a huge smile on its face. It almost felt like, yet again, it knew how I was feeling.

I thanked it and ate it in one huge bite. I munched right through my entire meal, only saying goodbye to Tony when I finished, and left the fast food joint with the lost Fire Pokemon on my shoulder once again.

* * *

><p>The clear sky had gone cloudy as we made our way to Sandgem Town. I sprinted across every lane of tall grass that stood in our way. You think I was gonna risk Chimchar getting hurt again by getting it involved in a fight? No, no way in hell.<p>

We finally arrived to the town after that long, tiring of asking for directions and sprinting like endangered prey through the grass. We caught our breaths back and started walking through the streets, hoping to find the lab soon. As we continued through the main area of the town, I could feel the local citizens staring at me and I could hear what they were whispering (it was almost like they WANTED me to hear them).

"Oh my God, is that that Chimchar that got lost from the lab walking with that girl?"

"What, that shitty Fire Pokemon that can't even fight? Pathetic."

"It was no doubt really crap at fighting and it was so damn shy. But look at it! The chimp looks like it's enjoying itself. Daniels' chimp never smiles like that!"

"That Chimchar is useless, there's no point for it to even be in his lab, anyways."

Chimchar turned to look at the ground in sadness after listening to their insults.

I felt angry for it, treating it so unfairly, not even giving it a chance. And I was sad for it. I always used to be insulted by the people who knew about my parent's jobs for simply being their daughter. That continued even when I left. Penny Pickpocket even knows about it. Now, I don't give a shit, but back then, I didn't know how to deal with that. I usually just sat in a corner and cried myself to sleep. Knowing what it was going through, I felt like I was sympathising with it.

I noticed a sign not too far up ahead saying 'Professor Daniels' Research Lab' with a large, brick building behind it. I jogged up to the large double doors on the front of the building and took a deep breath.

"Well, this will be a pain to explain a third time round," I said irritably, "Shall we go in?"

With the approving nod of my little fiery companion, I pushed open the large doors and ventured inside the large building.

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><p><strong>Again, thanks for reading!<strong>


	3. Decisions

**Sorry for the long wait guys, I've been a bit busy, but I'm back with new material and I'll be writing as much as possible before I start back at school. Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Decisions<strong>_

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><p>I stepped inside and marvelled at the tranquil aura it had. The walls were a nice, clean white and the carpet was sea foam coloured. A coffee table and a few chairs sat in the left corner of the room while magazines and light novels nested in their racks to the right.<p>

Across from me was a large desk with a skinny woman wearing a pair of square specs sitting behind it, typing away on the laptop in front of her with one hand and sipping a cup of coffee in the other.

I strolled across to the woman and knocked the desk twice to get her attention. Her eyes shifted from her laptop to my face, her worm-like eyebrows wriggling at the sight of me. She leaned back on her computer chair and brushed her hand stressfully through her long hair.

"Bad day at work?" I asked kindly.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she sighed, neatening up her hair, "So, what can I do for you, miss?"

"I'm looking for Professor Daniels," I explained, "This Chimchar here claims to be the one that went missing from here a few days ago."

"Well, it sure does look like it; I've missed that little guy!" she said happily, "Professor Daniels is in the main lab right now. Please sit in the waiting area over there and I'll fetch him for you."

I planted my tired ass onto one of the surprisingly comfy chairs. Chimchar leapt off my shoulder and landed feet first on the chair beside mine.

_God, I could sleep in one of these!_

I noticed then the frown on Chimchar's face. It was almost heart-breaking.

"Hey, c'mon now! You're not upset about what those people said about you, are you?"

The Pokemon bowed its head and nodded.

"Well don't be!"

My sudden change of tone made it jump.

"Look," I continued, "Even if you can't fight so well right now, you can always train and get better. And once you're really strong, you can make those bastards eat their words!"

Chimchar gave me an unconvincing smirk to the side of its face and stared off into space.

"Anyways, I'm sorry about before. With Tony, I mean. I don't like talking about it, and it's not something I wanna talk about in front of a kid or a Pokemon."

A ticklish feeling rushed up my arm as a head of thin fur brushed against it. Chimchar was now sitting on the arm of my chair, its head leaning on my arm. It kept its head down to avoid eye contact, but I think it was trying to comfort me in a way.

"Excuse me, miss?"

I stood up facing the receptionist with Chimchar on my shoulder once again.

"Professor Daniels would like to speak with you," she said, "His laboratory is through the door behind me."

I thanked her and stepped through the door. The room was huge! Probably to make space for the two large machines in the top corners of the room; God knows what they're for.

A few lab coats were yammering to each other about their work while others recorded the results of their experiments on paper. A desk sat at the far back wall of the room with a small, black-haired man in his 30's typing furiously on his computer.

"Hey, you! Up there!" I called to him, "You the professor?"

His loud typing came to a halt and he cocked his head up from behind his computer.

"Yeah, that's me!" He called back, "So you're the one who found Chimchar?"

"Yeah, that's me," I replied, lowering my voice as I approached him.

"Well then, Chimchar, could you show me your birthmark please?" he asked it, "To confirm that you're the Chimchar that went missing a few days ago?"

Chimchar nodded and jumped down onto the desk. It fell back onto its bottom and held up its right foot. On its heel was a small, light brown four-pointed star.

"It really is you, Chimchar!" he said, smiling down at it with his insanely white teeth, "Good to see you again! Hold on…"

He only then noticed the bandages that were wrapped across its chest.

"The little tyke was badly wounded when I found it," I explained, "So, I brought it to the Pokemon centre and stayed with it to make sure it was alright. There's a large scar on its back, but apart from that, it's perfectly fine."

"Now do you see?" he said sternly to Chimchar, waving his skinny finger in its face, "This is what happens when you go exploring all on your own like that. This is the second time this has happened and now you've gotten yourself a scar that could take years to disappear!"

The chimp hung its head in shame.

"This kind of thing happened before?" I asked him.

He cleared his throat before beginning, "Ever since he was transferred here, Chimchar has had difficulty when socialising with both humans and other Pokemo. Usually, when the Pokemon are sent into the playing fields for exercise, he sits on his own. However, after he began living here for a couple of weeks, he ventured away from the fields and into the town on his own. At the time, the townspeople were having a miniature Pokemon battle tournament for the kids and Chimchar, not knowing what was going on, inadvertently wondered in on the tournament. The kids who were competing thought it would be 'cool' to pick on him and made their Pokemon attack it one by one."

Chimchar clenched its small fists tightly. His head, once again, was bowed down.

"Chimchar, naturally, was overwhelmed and scared and didn't know how to fight back, so all he could do was take the damage dealt to him. Because he didn't fight back, the kids made fun of him, the town started gossiping about him, the town turned him into a laughing sto-"

His sentence was cut off when Chimchar landed a mighty punch to his face with his tiny fist. The impact spun the professor around on his desk chair a few times. The lab coats were looking in our direction, whispering into each other's ears.

I was impressed by the power behind that punch, especially since it was coming from such a small Pokemon. It was also very surprising after all Chimchar was very shy and could barely look at anyone in the eye, but there the chimp stood on that desk, fists shaking and its eyes burning with anger.

"Sorry," apologised Daniels, rubbing his cheek, "I forgot that was still a sensitive topic."

Chimchar sighed and stared up at me. His eyes weren't as angry as they were a second ago. They were almost apologetic. I didn't know how I could've read that just by looking at his eyes.

"Hey," continued Daniels, "Is it just me, or has Chimchar been less shy than he usually is?"

"Yeah, he used to be very shy when I found the guy," I stated, "But I think he's starting to warm up to people."

"Well, that's interesting indeed," he replied, tapping his chin in thought, "If that's the case, then I believe that your encounter with this chimp has done him some good. You don't look like a trainer. Ever thought about being one?"

"It's a nice idea," I started, "But I don't-"

"It would be such a shame if you haven't," he said, "I need trainers who can go out, find new Pokemon and fill up the pages of my Pokedex. It would aid our research plenty."

"Unfortunately, sir," I said, annoyed, "What I was TRYING to say was that as much as I'd like to do that, I simply don't have the money to feed my Pokemon or to buy the equipment they'll need."

"Ah, I see," he said, disappointment thick in his voice, "That's too bad. Couldn't your parents help you out?"

"I'm not on very good terms with my parents," I answered, quicker than I should've done.

"It's never too late to fix a family issue," he said, smiling that insanely bright smile, "Here's an idea. Chimchar can stay here for the night while you go home and think about it. Come back tomorrow with your answer. I'll tell my secretary to let you in when she sees you."

"I guess that's fair enough," I said reluctantly, "I'll see you round, then."

I was happy that I got Chimchar home safe, but I felt so miserable leaving the little guy. I could feel his sad eyes staring at the back of my head as I walked out the door.

* * *

><p>The clock had just struck 11:45 upon my entering 'Barkley's Bar', a local pub near the town square that I used to visit occasionally.<p>

"Hey, Kairi!" bellowed a rough and very recognisable voice, "Haven't seen you here in ages! How's life treatin' ya'?"

The bartender I knew so well stood behind the bar, polishing his pint glasses and he was as tall as ever. He had grown quite a large beer belly since I last saw him.

"Like a bitch, as per usual," I replied darkly as I took a seat at the bar, "Yesterday I got fired from what's most likely the only job _left _in this town and I had to babysit that frickin' Pokemon that ditched the lab."

"Tell Uncle Daryl all about it," he said, setting the freshly cleaned glass along with the rest of them

Again, I explained how I came across Chimchar, how I watched over him in the Pokemon centre, how I returned him to the lab in Sangdem and the offer Daniels gave me.

"Look at you, the Good Samaritan," chuckled Daryl, "Look, if you wanna help him out, then go right ahead. If you're really that worried about money, why not ask your parents to lend you a few bucks?"

"Ugh!" I groaned, resting my head on the counter, "The last thing I want to do is ask for money. Looking weak doesn't sit right with me."

"Well, you always have the option," he answered, pouring orange juice into a glass on the counter, "But I'd say that if you had to ask, now would be your best chance."

"How so?"

I wished I never asked that, because I had just looked over my shoulder and saw a woman with sandy hair wearing navy jeggins' and a white, long-sleeved cardigan walk towards me, with my eyes staring back at me.

The woman planted herself on the stool beside me and placed her small, cream handbag on the counter.

"Good evenin' ma'am!" welcomed Daryl, "what can I getcha'?"

"Gin and tonic, please," answered the woman politely.

"Comin' right up!" he said. The drink was prepared and set in front of her. Daryl, the big oaf, made me a glass of orange juice and muttered "On the house," as he set it gently on the counter for me. I could smell the hint of vodka as I sipped the glass.

_He's gonna get himself arrested if anyone finds out he's giving an underage kid liquor free of charge, but thanks, dude. I'm gonna need it right now._

"Hello, Kairi."

"Hello, Caroline."

"At least call me Mom."

"I'll call you what I want; be grateful that I haven't called you worse-"

"It's finished, Kairi."

My eyes widened in surprise, my hair blocking my face from her view.

"I've got a good job now," she continued, stirring her drink with her index finger, "I'm working as a shoe store clerk just outside of town. The money is pretty decent. And your father, after starting up his own little café, turned it into a four star restaurant, believe it or not. He's earning a lot more money than I am."

I sat quietly and listened. I was pretty surprised to hear that they've changed like that. It was shocking yet… relieving.

"I met that Tony friend of yours in the store today."

"I'm guessing he told you about it, huh?" I asked, taking a huge swig of my delicious beverage.

"Yeah, he even asked if I could give you money for a Pokemon trip and he told me all about that Chimchar you saved. Look, if you wanna do it, go right ahead."

"And where am I gonna get the money to do that? I got fired yesterday!"

"Your dad is basically rolling in the cash from his job. I'm sure if you give him a call at the nearest Pokemon centre, he'll be there the next day with some money for you."

"Like he'd do that just for me."

"You're his daughter, Kairi, that's what dads do."

I gulped my drink again, feeling the alcohol rushing through me.

"Is… that alright?"

To my surprise, she laughed at my question.

"You're just as stubborn as me when I was your age, kid! It's perfectly fine with us. You left that Pokemon at the lab, right? So, go into Sandgem town tomorrow and talk to the professor there. Your dad's going there tomorrow, so you can meet him outside the Pokemon centre when you're done. How's that sound?"

I was speechless. To think that my parents, MY parents, are being so… _parenta_l had left me dumbfounded.

"I'll take that as a yes then," she said, lifting her purse out of her handbag and setting cash out on the counter.

"I'm not up to finishing that," she sighed, "I'll see ya round then. Keep the change."

I watched, gobsmacked, as she made her exit from the bar.

_Ugh. Do I really have a choice?_

* * *

><p>I woke up on my living room floor at around 9 the next morning. The top half of my body lay on the floor while my legs hung from the couch.<p>

_I slept on the sofa? Aw, shit._

I jumped onto my feet and felt something rummaging around my skull.

_Head rush and a hangover. Deadly combination._

I stood on the spot for a moment to let my head settle a bit and scavenged round for my house keys. I found them wedged in between the cushions of the sofa, along with my sexy touch screen cell phone. (Yeah, it's a Toco Lite. Get used to it.)

I touched the phone and I had an unread text from Tony.

'**Hey, im sorry about gettin at you like that yesterday, it wasnt my business, but I talked with your mom**** about going out exploring with Pokemon. Your not angry are you?'**

I texted back that the only thing that was making me angry was his horrible grammar. Then I looked on the digital clock on my phone menu.

_14:37._

My head hadn't settled down any and my stomach certainly wasn't in the mood for breakfast, or, dinner, rather.

I climbed the stairs and ventured into my room, hunting for clothes to wear. I changed out of my sweaty clothes into a white t-shirt that had an 'I', a heart and a cartoon dinosaur on it, a grey cardigan, black pin-striped shorts and mismatching over-knee socks, (one with multi-coloured strips, the other black with multi-coloured pokadots) complete with purple converse. (Yes, I have an odd sense of fashion indeed). I added a finishing touch to my odd outfit: a brown woven belt and on it were small nuts (no pun intended), magnetic so it would hold Pokeballs properly.

_I guess it's handy that way, as expensive as these damn belts are._

I dug out a large rucksack with a sleeping bag inside, taking up half of the space. I shoved a few sets of clothes and shoes into the bag and put a toothbrush, toothpaste, my Betty Boop purse, deodorant and my hairbrush (naturally) in its front pouch. I don't like wasting too much time on things, so leaving as soon as possible was the only option in my mind.

I shoved my house keys and cell phone into my pockets and locked up the house before marching through the intense heat down the hill towards Sandgem Town.

"That's certainly good to hear!" said Daniels enthusiastically when I arrived at his lab, "I knew you would do it! I've already got your details from your mother inputted into the Pokedex I have here."

He pulled out a shiny, small Pokedex from his desk drawer and handed it to me.

"That should record all information on your findings out there," he continued, "Ah! Chimchar! Kairi's here!"

Chimchar responded to his call and came walking into the room, smirking shyly at me.

"Kairi's here to take you on an adventure. Does that sound good?"

The chimp looked up at me for a moment and then smiled sincerely.

"So, I'm taking that as a yes then?" I asked.

He nodded and his tail burned brightly.

"Well then, I suppose it's about time I gave you these."

Daniels handed me six Pokeballs which I clipped onto my belt.

"You know how to use them?"

"Yeah, I watched a show about it once."

"Good, good. Well, all I can say now is thank you for offering to help our research and on behalf of the whole team here, we hope you have a pleasant adventure."

I thanked the professor and left the laboratory with Chimchar back on my shoulder. The intense sunlight greeted us, along with around 17 teenagers and the odd adult hanging about the streets. The teenagers looked pretty rough. Some were wearing tracksuits with huge golden earrings while chewing gum and some others had their faces plastered in make-up and not much of what I'd like to call 'clothes' on them.

_The Plastics and the Skallys. Great._

A nearby plastic wore an awful dark pink mini-dress that barely covered her ass which revealing a ridiculous amount of cleavage, and she wore the tallest platform heels I had ever seen. She was talking to a guy wearing navy trackies and Addidas trainers, practically drooling over her for whatever reason I did not know.

_Okay, it's not your favourite crowd, obviously, but just keep walking, just keep walking-_

"Makes sense that trash like that would actually take on a Pokemon that shit!"

I looked over my free shoulder at the girl I just passed. That girl in that hideous outfit had had the nerve to call me trash. That angered me.

"I mean, c'mon!" she continued, wrinkling her nose at me, "What are she supposed to be, a circus clown?"

"And what are you supposed to be? A slut?"

The boy choked back a laugh and she gave him a menacing glare. I went inside the Pokemon centre with a victorious smile on my face and noticed Nurse Joy talking with a man a fancy black suit, his back towards me.

Nurse Joy said something to him that I couldn't hear before calling me over to her.

The man turned his head in my direction to reveal his face. It was my dad. Obviously, he changed for the better by the look of him. The last time I saw him he had bags under his eyes, let his beard grow and wore old clothes that always fell apart on him. Now he had no bags, no beard and a very nice suit.

"It's been a while, darlin'," he said, giving a small smile.

"That accent still hasn't changed any," I replied, still basking in the glory of my badass comeback earlier.

"I'm from Northern Ireland, what ye expect?"

"Hey, that's just off London, yeah?"

"Aye, Portstewart I lived in. No' very much there in that country, though. London's class, though. I took a trip there a couple weeks ago. Nice place, London. Aw, aye! Hold on, I got it here for ye…"

He pulled out a small, fat wallet from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Hey, why are you dressed like that?" I asked him, taking a second look at his appearance.

"Aw, I just came back from Danny's weddin'," he sighed, "Heather left him a' the altar."

"Seriously?" I said, dumbfounded, "Why-?"

"She just ran out. Danny went after her and she star'ed screamin' at 'im, sayin' the baby wasn' even his and that she was gonna live with the baby's da."

"Wow, what a bitch."

"We still get along as well as we used to, don't we?"

I smiled awkwardly and peeked inside the wallet and, to my astonishment, inside was-

"Three…grand…"

"Shhh! That should do ye for about two and a half months, maybe three. My number's inside the wallet so you can give me a ring when you run outta money at a Pokemon centre or somethin'."

I closed up the wallet and stuffed it in with my house keys in one of my pockets, hoping no one saw inside it or heard how much was in it.

"Anyway, I better get back home," he said, flattening down a tuft of his hair, "your mum made a list of chores for me in case I came home early. God, that woman is a demon sometimes."

"Sounds like her," I chuckled, "Oh! Chimchar! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to ignore you like that!"

I patted him on the head apologetically and he nodded as a sign I was forgiven.

"So, this is Chimchar, eh?" said Dad, "Cute lit'le thing, ain't he?"

Chimchar, shaking with nerves, bowed to him.

"No need te bow te me," he laughed, "We're family now, aren' we?"

Chimchar lifted his head up and rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"Anyways, I gotta go here," he said before walking towards the door, "Give us a call when you get to Jubilife City to let us know you're. We do worry about you, ye know! Bye!"

And with that he left. I felt somewhat happy to see him again. I was now finally ready to believe that my parents had actually turned their lives around. They were actually trying to be a real family.

With that thought in my head, I left the Pokemon centre and made my way out of Sandgem with Chimchar grinning happily on my shoulder. The light of the world enveloped us in its warmth as we made our long, memorable hike of adventure.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! R&amp;R please!<strong>


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